Spotlight: DRINK UP! Know your wine and its story. Appreciation 101
So we thought we'd discuss a lot of what's going on with this wonderful family, and we're going to cover topics that I think are really important as we drink our wine to understand, where did this wine come from? What's going on right now? How is climate change affecting wine? What's the science of creating wine during a time when things are so different than they were 30 years ago and the culture of drinking in general?
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 1:05
Hi, Deborah, thank you so much for including me in this conversation and invited me to participate. I am super excited about this, so thank you. As you mentioned, Honig Vineyard Winery is a family owned and operated winery. We make Sovignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon. We are located geographically in the center of the Napa Valley in a place called Rutherford, and we have probably had our most difficult week a week and a half ever in the last week due to the wildfires followed by COVID
I'm so happy you're okay. We've been following you. The whole area is just devastated. It's an unbelievable time. There's nothing more devastating in terms of those images that we're seeing. I don't know. I'm just wishing you and your family well. And I'm so happy you have a moment to talk with us. I just want to go back to you for a second with a smile on my face. Tell me about wine and Spirit Education Trust hire certificate
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 1:45
So I kind of did the reverse than a lot of people do. I fell into the industry accidentally in Florida. When I was in College, I had a professor who ended up being my mentor. And he was the wine director for a large retail chain. And I went to work with him. And then I ended up moving to New York and working for Champagne Company, which is part of LVMH. And I was selling in New York City 22 different brands and managing distributors
You are one of 300 people with that trust. That's amazing. I'm honored to be talking to you. That's an incredible accomplishment. Congratulations, Lisa. Is my next question, which is when someone comes to your winery who doesn't know much about wine. Wine? What can you teach somebody what's your expectation for someone to learn X amount when they're sitting in your company for an hour with a wine tasting
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 1:10
You know, the tasting experience is really tailored to what the guest interest is. We have an amazing team of wine educators here in our tasting room, which, by the way, is is open and we have a beautiful setup and very safe protocols in place. And smoke has gotten better and better over the last few days. So the air is much cleaner and I know it's just improving
And this is why I'm so curious about this conversation. There could have been somebody having this conversation with you who understands way more about the nuances and also just the average differences between certain grapes. I'd love you to answer these two questions in the same swell one, the first one about do you grow your own grapes, or do you get it from other places? And what's that like in terms of knowing where to get your grapes and how to choose them each year?
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 2:23
Well, now that's one model. There are people who like the people that sell us grapes. Many of them don't make wine, and they exclusively sell all their fruit. And then there are also people that have winemaking facilities that purchase all their fruit and don't own vineyard. So there are multiple different models. And I hope that answers a little bit the question about growing. It really depends on the individual business and business model that people have in terms of vintages. It's strictly geographic
I guess I want to talk about, like 2021 when you look at 2021 or 2023, how different do you look at your plans to produce based on the fact that there are new restrictions or new realities with fires and with the water? Does Rutherford have a water problem? I know that in different areas up in Anderson Valley, there are really big problems with water. Can you tell us about the water table and where it is and what your concerns are?
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 0:37
Hi, Deborah, thanks for your questions and I might just go back and forth for a minute just to make sure I cover all of them. I know water Table was one of them since we are right in Rutherford and the national up a river runs right through us and we've had very little development in the last 50 years. Our water table is in pretty good shape. Most of us dry farm, which means we don't use water in farming practices
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 1:14
In terms of planning, we never know what Mother Nature is going to throw at us. Right? So our job is to make the best possible wine and take the best care of our vines in our grapes that we can't. So that involves things like giving good nutrients to the soil and planting cover crops and biscuits into the soil and pruning back the vine so that we have fewer grapes of higher flavor intensity
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 1:06
But we are not going to take a chance and putting something in the bottle that is not of the quality that we always put forward. So we are sadly, skipping that vintage of cavernous. The ash on the soil doesn't impact the longevity of the actual vine that's planted there or the soil. It's almost like saying, it rained in the ocean. It's really such a small drop in the bucket. It's a teeny, tiny layer on top of the soil
Deborah Pardes
@DBPardes · 1:24
The second question is okay. So first is about what do you do with those grapes, if anything. And the second question is about dry farming. Can you explain what that is? I don't understand it. And I'm fascinated. I also want to say that third question
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 0:53
You stress them out, and it works to the highest potential. So that's the idea with grape vines in this area. So that's why we are able to dry farm most of the time and not use water
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 2:08
In terms of sustainability and planting green. Yes, of course. I mean, green. Is that's what we do, right? And we want to contribute to the world in any way we can. Actually, vines have been good in the fires because people don't realize that vines act as a fire barrier. So we live in the middle of a vineyard. We felt pretty safe because we were surrounded by green, vibrant vines. But no, we're very sustainably minded
Stephanie Honig
@stephjhonig · 0:16
And also just to add to that the fruit that goes unpicked that stays in the vine gets eaten up by the birds so that our vines are bare in the wintertime and we start the process and the cycle all over over again